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KIND BlogFri, 31 Jul 2015 19:31:34 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.5Do the KIND Thing: Supporting Refugee Youth Through Sportshttp://www.kindsnacks.com/blog/post/do-the-kind-thing-supporting-refugee-youth-through-sports/
http://www.kindsnacks.com/blog/post/do-the-kind-thing-supporting-refugee-youth-through-sports/#commentsWed, 04 Dec 2013 14:00:28 +0000http://www.kindsnacks.com/?p=23853In 2004, Luma Mufleh took a wrong turn on her way home from work and stumbled upon a group of bare-footed children kicking around a deflated soccer ball in a parking lot in Clarkston, Georgia. A couple days later, she returned to the same spot armed with a fancy new soccer ball and asked the boys if she could join their game. They agreed. Soon, Luma learned that these young men were refugees from war-torn countries who had been resettled in Clarkston, one of the United States’ 350 designated resettlement communities.

Within weeks, Luma helped transform the group into an official soccer team—The Fugees, short for refugees. The boys came from different places—Liberia, Sudan, Afghanistan—but they all knew what it was like to experience trauma and live somewhere entirely new. And they all loved soccer.

Luma realized these kids needed more than a soccer team. And so, she founded the Fugees Family. The organization helps provide the kids and their families with a support system. What began eight years ago as a single soccer team has become something much larger in the Fugees Academy—a school, a tutoring program, a summer camp, a college prep program, and, most importantly, a community. In 2011, a girls program was launched to mirror the successful boys program and provide refugee girls with a new sense of empowerment.

Last year KIND partnered with the Fugees Family to award a $7,500 gift to support their ongoing academic and extracurricular programming. Over the year, that gift was used to provide safe transportation for their middle school student athletes to and from tutoring sessions at the academy. We are proud to support a great organization that is helping to make the world a kinder place. We recently caught up with Anne Seymour of the Fugees to get a Project update and checkin with the Family.

We are committed to Do the KIND Thing and moving forward, KIND is providing funding for one project per month. Do you have an idea that makes the world a better place? Do you know of an organization that is actively supporting their community? Submit your project here and learn more about how small acts of kindness can add up to world change.

KIND: What is the mission of the Fugees Academy?

Anne Seymour: Fugees Academy is an independent, community-based middle school emphasizing academic and character development of student-athletes. Through small classes, high expectations, and targeted instruction, Fugees Academy empowers the most vulnerable of students—child survivors of war—to become independent thinkers and high-achieving scholars. Working as a team both on and off the field, members of the Fugees Academy community strive to support each other while working to achieve individual goals. It is our belief that this team mind-set nurtures and prepares young adults who will be the next generation of international and community leaders.

How do team sports like soccer help refugee children become more successful in other aspects of their life? Can you give an example?

Students who are involved with the Fugees are committed. They want to learn. And when that desire isn’t enough, the soccer keeps them coming back. Soccer, the world’s favorite sport, gives Fugees players what they rarely find in their previous schools: a sense of achievement, freedom and pleasure. Because the Fugees was initiated to fill the need for a soccer team, soccer has constantly been a driving force for many of the Fugees.

Soccer is treated as a privilege—games on weekends, tournaments, equipment, uniforms—everything must be earned. In order to participate in soccer, students must attend and pass all of their classes as well as get good behavior marks. An average program attendance rate of 90% and school attendance rate of 98% also indicate a strong commitment to the program and education. These numbers suggest that students involved with the Fugees are much less likely to dropout of school than their peers.

“The Fugees is my favorite school so far. They teach me to become a better reader, writer and to ask more questions. I made so many new friends that I feel like they are my second family. I really love this school because we become healthier in practice and they teach me to become a better person.” -Dilkhas, 12, Iraq

KIND Partnered with the Fugees Family earlier this year with a KIND project award. What were you able to accomplish with the funding?

Our KIND partnership helped us to continue providing the Fugees with safe rides home every night from after-school tutoring. Through the KIND award and donations from our supporters, we were able to purchase a new bus to meet the need of our ever-growing family.

What are some of the initiatives you’re currently working on? How can our readership support your initiatives?

In the past eight years, the Fugees Family has grown enormously to include a suite of academic, athletic and enrichment programs designed to help refugee children succeed. Our enrollment is growing too. As we continue to develop plans for building a permanent, larger campus for Fugees Academy, we are working on a parallel track to ensure that the organization continues to be financially sound and forward-looking in the face of growth.

Or shop through smile.amazon.com/
and search for and select “Fugees Family”. Amazon will automatically donate 6% of all eligible purchases to the Fugees!

When you buy a box of KIND Bars, consider sending an additional box to the Fugees to help keep the Fugees fueled in the classroom and on the field!

Mail To:
Fugees Family
PO BOX 388
Scottdale, GA 30079

]]>http://www.kindsnacks.com/blog/post/do-the-kind-thing-supporting-refugee-youth-through-sports/feed/0Matt Lampson Uses Pro Status for Greater Goodhttp://www.kindsnacks.com/blog/post/matt-lampson-uses-pro-status-for-greater-good/
http://www.kindsnacks.com/blog/post/matt-lampson-uses-pro-status-for-greater-good/#commentsFri, 11 Oct 2013 20:44:21 +0000http://www.kindsnacks.com/?p=21401Matt Lampson is a 24-year-old goalkeeper for The Columbus Crew in Ohio. He is a driven and accomplished athlete who uses his pro status for the greater good. As a cancer survivor, he vows to make his second chance on life count at every turn.

Just after high school, doctors diagnosed Lampson with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. After aggressive rounds of chemotherapy, Lampson was determined to rid his body of cancer and get back on the field. The Ohio native has been playing soccer since the age of five and comes from a family dedicated to soccer. For Lampson, soccer is his lifeline both professionally and personally.

He says, “Nothing is stronger than the human power of will. Regardless of what the obstacles may be, if you want something badly enough, you should never let anything prevent you from attaining it.”

Today, he is a spokesperson of the Central Ohio Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Chapter to raise awareness of blood cancers and give back to children in the community by serving as a role model. With LLS, he started a Hero program where young survivors or patients come out to the field after a game and get one on one with Lampson.

He says, “The message that I impart to children is to always strive to do the best at every endeavor you encounter. Life is a very precious gift and it should be lived to its fullest. So take your opportunities and make the most of them and be proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

This weekend, Lampson will lead Central Ohio’s Light The Night Walk, to raise funds for cancer research. And at every match, Lampson wears custom-made lime green goalkeeper’s gloves stamped with ribbons, the symbol of lymphoma awareness.

Just as he is dynamic in his defense on the field, he uses the same energy as a community figure. He often says, “I take it upon myself…” to lead, to speak, to stay motivated, to push a message of wellness. And in our opinion, this is the best action of kindness—to inspire.

]]>http://www.kindsnacks.com/blog/post/matt-lampson-uses-pro-status-for-greater-good/feed/0One World Futbol: A Nearly Indestructible Soccer Ball for a Great Causehttp://www.kindsnacks.com/blog/post/one-world-futbol-a-nearly-indestructible-soccer-ball-for-a-great-cause/
http://www.kindsnacks.com/blog/post/one-world-futbol-a-nearly-indestructible-soccer-ball-for-a-great-cause/#commentsTue, 13 Aug 2013 13:00:28 +0000http://dev5.kindsnacks.com/?p=6722Here at KIND, we believe in the power of business to Do the KIND Thing—our founder is a social entrepreneur who creates businesses that empower all stakeholders involved. Consider purchasing equipment that is not only good for your athlete but also good for the world.

Anyone who has witnessed the joy on the face of a young athlete as they dribble a soccer ball down the field understands how transformative sport and play can be in the lives of people. Now imagine spreading that joy to over thousands of communities. The One World Futbol Project does just that, having distributed 200,000 of its nearly indestructible foam soccer balls over the past two years to disadvantaged youth around the world.

When inventor Tim Jahnigen witnessed news footage of Sudanese children playing soccer with a rag ball made of trash and twine, he was inspired to make a difference. Traditional soccer balls are easily punctured and require a pump and needle for regular maintenance—the balls are not designed for the rigors of concrete, unpaved streets and rough play. And when considering the fact that over 20 million sports balls end up in African landfills each year, the importance of durable athletic equipment becomes more apparent.

The mission of One World Futbol Project is to have a meaningful impact on the lives of youth around the world with a virtually indestructible ball that would never go flat and never need a pump. Made of a similar foam material to Crocs shoes, the balls can survive a battery of abuse: it won’t wrinkle, crack or become water-logged in the most extreme conditions.

Through their “buy one, give one” business model and sponsorship, the One World Futbol Project is distributing over 1.5 million foam futbols in the next three years. When purchasing one ball for $39.50, you buy a second ball for a child in a disadvantaged community. You can even choose to donate your ball to a number of campaigns with programs in Latin America, Africa, Afghanistan and the United States.